Needle for talking machines and like apparatus



Patented Sept. 9, 1924.

"nnen STATES WILLIAM ERNEST CLIFTON, 0F NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TOCLIETOPHONE LIMITED, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, A BRITISH LIMITED LIABILITYCOMPANY.

NEEDLE FOR TALKING MACHINES AND LIKE APPARATUS;

Application led January 3, 1923.' Serial No. 610,425.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM ERNEST CLIFTON, a subject of the King ofEngland, residing at Nottingham, England, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Needles for Talking Machines and like Apparatus,of which the following is a specification.

r1`his invention consists in improvements in or relating to needles fortalking-machines and like apparatus, and has for its object theimprovement of the tone produced by the needle, the lessening of surfacenoise, and the cheapening of the cost of production. needle, by the useof which wearing of the record-surface will be reduced.

According to the present invention a gramophone or like needle is formedfrom a length of wire doubled back onitself one or more times with -apointed end extending clear of and beyond the extremity of the doubledback portion.

The invention also includes a gramor. phone-needle whereof that endwhich is to be retained in a needle-socket is formed with a loopedortion, the construction and purpose of W ich will be more fullydescribed hereinafter.

rI'he invention will be more clearly understood from the followingdescription given by way of example with the aid of the 'accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figures 1, 2, 3, 4:, 5, 7, 9, 10 and 11 showrespectively different forms in which the needle may be manufactured,all drawn to an enlarged scale; y

Fi re 6 is a section on the line 6--6 either 'of Figure 4 or Figure 5;andv Fi re 8 is a side view of the pointed end of the needle showninFigure 7.

Like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the severalfigures of the drawings.

Thus, in the shown respectively in' d 13,'Fi Ires 2 and 7, or 1s wrappedround' Figures 1, 2, 3 and 7 ,a needle may be forme from a length ofthinbrass, mild steel or wire doubled back Qn itself once with *he two limbs1() and 11 thus provided lying close to one another. If the doubled-backportion ofvsuch a needle be inserted in the usual needle-socket in, orinconnection with,

the stylus-bar the end of the retaining-'screw will engage the two limbsso as to grip them lirmly and will tend to open them or will A furtherobject lis to provide a.

actually open them apart, thus increasing the security, the area ofcontact, and rigiditykwith which the needleis held in the soc et.

. -The invention maytherefore bev considin or, it may be, by slitting oreven forming an eye in that end portion) to be engaged by theretaining-screw so that the loop will be therebybpened or wedged apartto engage with the inner wall of the needle-socket along two or morelines of Contact. Altervnatively the looped portion of the needle couldbe so formed as naturally to tend to open by its own resilience so thatit will be compressed when it is inserted in the needlesocket and willthereby engage Vthe latter as before along two or more lines of contactc without having t0 be Opened the retaining-screw.

The following description of other oo nstructions of needle according tothe invention shows specifically how a needlecan be vformed to a'ordmore than two" lines of contact with the needle-socket. By what may betermed a multiple-line Contact between the needle and its socket a moresatisfactoryretention ofthe needle Within the socket is obtained withimproved results.

by means of If desired, instead of bending the wire back once only, itmaybe returned in a further bend 12, as shown in Figures 4, 5 and 10,with the third limb 12 thus provided lying in the grooveI formed by theother two limbs which lie close together.- The shank of such a needlewould then have in cross section a virtually triangular form, as shownin Figure 6.

According to another feature lof the inv vention, the non-pointed end 11'of the double-back portion is bent outwardly as at connecting limbs f11 and 13 is bent out-- manner similar to the offwardly at 15 in a 2 and7. The purpose of set' 13 in Figures these constructions is to afford amore ready p grip for the fin ers in inserting or removmg the needle romthe socket and, moreover, the outwardly-bent portlon or the part that isbent round the adjacent shank, niay serve-as a stop to limit the amountby which the needle-shank is inserted in the socket.

Another feature of the invention consists in flattening the pointed endof the wire as shown in Figures 7, 8, 10 and 11 so that the. flattenedportion lies in a plane transverse to a plane containing two adjacentlimbs of the wire which are doubled back one over the other. 'Thus, ifthe needle is constituted by a length of wire doubled back once overitself, the flattening of the needle just short of the pointed end in ap lane transverse to that containing the two limbs will tend to increasethe exibility of the pointed end in the direction of needle-drag over arecord but will increase its rigidity in a direction transverse thereto,that is to say in the direction of vibration with records most commonlyemployed.

A still further feature of the invention consists in bending the limb 10awayv from the doubled shank portion, as shown at 16 in Figures 9 and11, with the extremity bent back again so as to extend approximately inthe original direction of the limb so that the point rests on the recordat the required angle. rlhis affords additional flexibility in thedirection of needle-drag and is found, in some cases, to be ofadvantage. y

By the present invention a wire of soft metal, for example mild steel orbrass, may be employed. 'It is found that, in contrast with the hardenedsteel needles in general use, a needle according tothe presentinvention-is capable of yielding more readily in the direction ofneedle-drag to give to unevennesses in the record-grooves. llt is foundin consequence that such a needle will run more smoothly over the recordwith less jarring or chattering and with less scratching than is thecase with hardened needles. A further advantage is that the needle isreversible (i. e. can be turned about the axis of its shank, for examplebetween its use with any pair of records one after the other) and bydoubling the wire back on itself there is no diiiiculty in ascertainingthat the needle has been properly and completely reversed as the grip ofthe retaining-screw on the relatively broad surface a'orded by the twolimbs of the doubled-back portion automatically grips the needlecorrectly `in its reversed position.

lt will be understood that many modifica- I tions in details ofconstruction may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention. For example, in -place of the double or treble shankfor-mation described, the wire may be bent back, if it is suilicientlysmallA n diameter, and the needle-Socket is sufficiently large, four ormore times; but in practice it will rarely be found that a needle formedfrom a wire of suitable diameter can be doubled back more than threetimes. rThis latter form, however, is particularly suitable for use withthe cornpai'atively large needle-sockets formed for the reception of theknown wood or fibre needles.

What l claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters atent is 1.A needle for gramophone and like sound reproducing machines formed froma single length of wire doubled onvitself to provide two adjacent prongswhereof one is longer than the other and is pointed at the end.

2. A needle for gramophone and like sound reproducing machines whereofthat end which is to be retained in a needlesocket is formed with alooped portion which will engage with the inner wall of the socket alongtwo or more lines of contact.

3. A needleI for gramophone and like sound reproducing machines whereofthat end which is to be retained in the needlesocket is formed `with aresilient looped portion providing substantially parallel prongs whichlie substantially in Contact throughout their length.

4. A needle for gramophone and like i sound reproducing machines whereofthat end which is to be retained in the needlesocket is formed with alooped portion adapted to be engaged by a retaining screw whereby itwill be ope-ned out and engaged with the inner wall of the socket alongtwo or more lines of contact, substantially as described.

5. A needle for gramophone and like sound reproducing machines formedfrom a length of wire doubled back on itself for the purpose described,with a pointed end extending clear of and beyond the extremity of thedoubled portion and with the nonpointed end of the doubled portion bentoutwardly to'forin a stop, substantiallyas described.

6. A needle for gra-mophone and like Sound reproducing machines formedfrom a length of wire doubled back on itself for the purpose described,with a pointed end extending clear of and beyond the extremity of the7doubled portion and the non-pointed end of the doubled portion bentoutwardly and wrapped round the adjacent limb to afford a stop,substantially as described.

ln testimony whereof lf have signed niy name to this specification.

wiLLiAM nrinns'r entraron'.

